Tracking of intraperitoneally and direct intrahepatic administered mesenchymal stem cells expressing miR-146a-5p in mice hepatic tissue

Given the functional drawbacks in the efficacy and safety of conventional miRNA delivery approaches, we aimed to assess the fate of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) expressing miR-146a-5p into the mice hepatic tissue. MSCs were xeno-transplanted through direct intrahepatic and intraperitoneal routes into immunocompetent and cyclosporine A treated BALB/c mice. DNA extracts from murine organs 24 h and 28 days after xenotransplantation were analyzed by PCR method for detection of human-specific Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) sequence. Xeno-transplanted naive MSCs could not be detected after 24 h and 28 days post-infusion at the various organs of mice. Considering the miR-146a-5p expression in MSCs together with negative results of cell engraftment in hepatic tissue, the present study suggests the cell-free secretome-based miR-146a-5p delivery for modulation of altered miRNA expression in hepatic stellate cells.